OXFORD University head coach Sean Bowden admitted his crew were second best after Cambridge cruised to victory in the 164th Boat Race.

The Dark Blues proved no match for their rivals, falling to a three-length defeat.

And Cambridge’s victory in the men’s race completed a clean sweep in all four Boat Races (men’s, women’s, plus reserve races for both) for the first time since 1997.

But while not wanting to make excuses, Bowden pointed to a disrupted preparation as being less than ideal.

Oxford were left to reflect on a late crew change, when Benedict Aldous replaced the ill Josh Bugajski just five days before the race.

Aldous had been in hot water in the build-up to Saturday’s race for wearing a Ku Klux Klan costume to a fancy-dress party.

But Bowden insisted it was illness and injuries that caused his crew’s defeat.

“We were just beaten by a better crew,” he said.

“We’ve got a guy who was ill, so we had to make a decision.

“We brought Benedict Aldous in and the boat responded very well when he got in.

“Will Warr had a back injury before training even started, then Tobias Schroder got glandular fever.”

He added: “Cambridge did a much better job than us in the first two minutes.

“It took us a long time to get our rhythm. And by then the race was lost.”

Cambridge coach Steve Trapmore was thrilled to end his eight-year spell in charge on a high.

“We had something to prove this year,” he said.

“We learned a lot from last year’s defeat and put some real positivity in place, and the belief and resilience saw us home.”

Oxford’s inexperienced women’s crew reflected on what they felt was an inevitable defeat.

“We knew from day one it was going to be a tough year,” a tearful Katherine Erickson said.

“I’m crying but I’m really proud. Cambridge are a really good crew and it was an honour to race them.”